Otedola Bridge: Lagos Govt Finally Reveals Death Figure

The Lagos State Government on Monday confirmed 12 casualties in the June 28 petrol tanker explosion on Otedola Link Bridge.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, made this known at a news conference in Lagos.

According to him, 10 of the victims, including a minor, died at the scene of the accident, while two others died at the hospital.

Idris urged private hospitals that might have patients from the accident to provide such information to the Ministry of Health for proper collation.

According to him, of the 12 people who died, 10, including a minor, were taken from the scene of the accident completely burnt to the Yaba Mainland Hospital.

“Seven people were taken with varying degrees of burns to our various hospitals.

“First at our Accident and Emergency Centre at the Toll Gate; Trauma and Burns Centre, Gbagada General Hospital and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

“Of the seven, unfortunately, we lost one of them that had a degree greater than 80 percent burns.

“Right now, we have only five left and they are being treated; nobody received any money to treat them. They were treated free of charge.

“We also received report over the weekend that some cases may have been taken to some other private hospitals.

“So far, we are aware of only two of the hospitals and one of the victims had died,’’ the commissioner said.

Idris said that two patients- a 48-year-old and 42-year-old, both males- were taken to the Burns and Plastic Unit, LASUTH.

He said that one of the two males had been discharged, while the other was stable and responding to treatment.

“While commiserating with the families of the victims, who lost their lives and property in the unfortunate fatal explosion, I wish to state that the state government has left no stones unturned.

“The government will continue to do the needful in addressing and managing all the issues surrounding the inferno,“ he said.

Also, Mr Adeshina Tiamiyu, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASTMA), said that the state government had commissioned the ministry to conduct a DNA analysis of the remains of those burnt to death.

Tiamiyu said: “Not everybody is required to go for the samples; samples will be taken from one of the relations of the victims including the father or the mother, child of the victims, siblings or an uncle or aunt.

“When the relations come, samples will be taken; from there, it will be cross-matched with samples taken from the victims.

“When these are matched, we will be able to determine who the bodies represent and after this, we will hand over to the families of the victims.

“All of these are done free of charge, both the treatment and DNA test,“ he said.

Tiamiyu said that LASEMA had opened a help desk to help counsel relations of victims of the unfortunate incident.